Every EU citizen has the right to reside on the territory of the host EU country for a period of up to three months without any conditions or formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid identity card or passport.

It does not matter whether you came to work or study there or just to visit as a tourist. A valid identity card or passport is all you need.

Third country family members who accompany or join you can reside with you for up to three months just with their passport.

EU citizens benefi t from the right to reside without any conditions and formalities for a period of six months and even longer, if they continue to seek employment in the host EU country and have a genuine chance of getting work.

Where can I find more?

You can fi nd the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Article 6 of the Directive.

Reporting your presence

Reporting your presence

You and your family members might be required to report your presence within a reasonable period of time after arrival. This allows the public authorities of the host EU country to be fully aware of population movements in their territory.

The EU countries, however, have the option not to require you to report your presence.

What happens if you do not report your presence?

If you or your family members fail to comply with the requirement to report your presence, you can be liable to proportionate and non-discriminatory administrative sanctions. This means that the sanctions must be appropriate to the violation made and must be the same as those which would be imposed on nationals of the host EU country. However, you cannot be expelled just for violating this rule.

Where can I find more?

You can fi nd the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Article 5(5) of the Directive

Your right to reside for more than three months is subject to certain conditions. The nature of these conditions depends on your status in the host EU country.

Workers, self-employed, providers of services

Workers and self-employed persons have the right to reside without any conditions other than being a worker or self-employed person. The same right applies to persons who temporarily provide services in the host EU country.

For details of transitional arrangements on free movement of workers, see Chapter 12 below.

Retention of worker or self-employed status

EU citizens retain the status of workers and self-employed persons in the following circumstances:

if they are unable to work as the result of an illness or accident; or

if they are in duly recorded involuntarily unemployment and have registered as jobseekers with the relevant employment offi ce; or

be enrolled at an establishment for the principal purpose of following a course of study or vocational training;

have comprehensive sickness insurance cover there; and

assure the relevant national authority, by means of a declaration or by such equivalent means as they may choose, that they have suffi cient resources for themselves and their family not to become a burden on the host EU country’s social assistance system during their residence.

… and other economically inactive persons

Other economically inactive persons (e.g. unemployed, retired, etc.) must also have suffi cient resources for themselves and their family not to become a burden on the host EU country’s social assistance system during their residence and have comprehensive sickness insurance cover.

Rights of your family members

Your family members have the right to reside with you provided that you meet the conditions outlined in this Chapter.

Exception for family members of students

The only exception is for some family members of students. The host EU country can decide that only the student’s spouse, registered partner and their dependent descendents have the ‘automatic’ right of residence. Their other family members, such as parents, only have the right to have their entry ‘facilitated’.

It is a personal right

The right to reside in another EU country is your fundamental and personal right and is granted to you directly by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The right is therefore not dependent upon you having ful filled administrative procedures.

This basically means that once you meet the conditions, you have the right to reside from that moment and your right is not granted to you by a decision of the host EU country. The documents you or your family members might be issued with by the host EU country merely acknowledge that you have the right. However, if you fail to register or your family member’s residence card expires, your right to reside cannot be terminated if you still meet the conditions. You may be subject to a proportionate and non-discriminatory administrative sanction for your failure to observe the national rules.

Where can I find more?

You can fi nd the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Article 7 of the Directive.

What administrative formalities might you need to follow to be able to stay for longer than three months?

EU citizens

Registration

You may be required to register with the relevant authorities, but only for periods of residence longer than three months.

EU countries have the option not to require EU citizens to register.

Certificate and deadline

The deadline for registration is laid down by each EU country but it may not be less than three months from the date of arrival. e relevant national authority should issue you with a registration certi cate stating your name and address and the date of registration, immediately a er presentation of the required documents.

Residence permits for EU citizens have been abolished by the Directive and replaced by registration certifi cates, which shall be issued in a much faster procedure.

Documents to prepare

You may be required to produce documents showing that you meet the conditions listed in Chapter 6 above.

ID or passport In any case, you should ensure you have a valid identity card or passport. Depending on your status, you might also be required to present proof that you comply with the conditions attached to the right of residence for your category of status (e.g. worker, student, etc.).

for workers Workers must produce a confi rmation of engagement from the employer or a certifi cate of employment. There is no need to produce pay slips.

for self-employed Self-employed persons must produce proof that they are self-employed.

for students Students must produce the following:

proof of enrolment at an accredited establishment;

proof of comprehensive sickness insurance cover; and

a declaration, or any other equivalent means as they may choose, that they have suffi cient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the host EU country.

for others Other economically inactive persons should provide proof of comprehensive sickness insurance cover and of sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the host EU country.

What are sufficient resources?

There is no fixed amount of resources which the EU countries can impose as ‘sufficient’. EU citizens have su§ cient resources if the level of their resources is higher than the threshold under which a minimum subsistence bene t (or the minimum social security pension) is granted in the host EU country.

National authorities must take into account the personal situation of the EU citizen concerned but they can, when necessary, undertake checks on the existence of the resources, their lawfulness, the amount and availability. Resources from a third party must be accepted.

Your family members who are EU citizens themselves will also be issued with a registration certifi cate upon presentation of the following:

a valid identity card or passport;

your registration certifi cate or, in the absence of a registration system, any other proof of your residence in the host EU country; and

a document attesting to the existence of a family relationship or of a registered partnership with you and documentary evidence that they are dependant on you, ifapplicable.

Family members who have the right to have entry and residence facilitated must alsopresent:

a document issued by the relevant authority of the country of origin stating that they are your dependants or members of your household;

proof of the existence of serious health grounds; or

proof of a durable relationship with you.

Validating and translating documents

If the EU country has serious doubts about the authenticity of the documents you provide, you may need to have them certi ed as genuine. To do this, you need to go to a lawyer, a notary or your embassy, and a fee is usually payable. If the EU country cannot understand your documents, you may also be asked for a translation.

EU countries can adopt the necessary measures to refuse, terminate or withdraw anyright conferred by the Directive in the case of forged documentation.

Fees?

Registration certifi cates must be issued free of charge or for a charge not exceeding that imposed on nationals for the issuing of similar documents, such as national identity cards.

Where can I find more?

You can fi nd the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Article 8 of the Directive

Family members who are not EU citizens themselves will be issued a Residence card clearly indicating that they are family members of an EU citizen upon presentation of the following:

a valid passport;

your registration certi cate or, in the absence of a registration system, any other proof of your residence in the host EU country; and

a document attesting to the existence of a family relationship or of a registered partnership with you and documentary evidence that they are dependent on you, if applicable.

Family members who have the right to have entry and residence facilitated must present any of the same documents which are required from EU citizens who enjoy that right.

Deadlines and validity

Your family members who are not EU citizens themselves are obliged to apply for a residence card where the planned period of residence is for more than three months.

The deadline for submitting the application may not be less than three months from the date of arrival.

The residence card is issued within six months from application and is valid for five years (or for the duration of the envisaged period of your residence if this is less than five years) from the date of issue. It must be issued as a self-standing document and not in the form of a sticker in a passport. A certifi cate of application should be issued immediately.

Validating and translating documents

As for EU citizens, you may be required to have documents certifi ed as genuine if the EU country has serious doubts about their authenticity. To do this, you need to go to a lawyer, a notary or your embassy, and a fee is usually payable. If the EU country cannot understand your documents, you may also be asked for a translation.

EU countries can adopt the necessary measures to refuse, terminate or withdraw anyright conferred by the Directive in the case of forged documentation.

Residence cards must be issued free of charge or for a charge not exceeding that imposed on nationals for the issuing of similar documents.

Where can I find more?

You can find the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Articles 9 to 11 of the Directive.

Sanctions

And if you don't meet the administrative requirements…?

What happens if you have not applied for a required document?

If you or your family members fail to comply with the requirement to register or to apply for a residence card, you can only be liable to proportionate and non-discriminatory administrative sanctions. EU countries can impose the same sanctions as those imposed on their own nationals for failure to carry their identity card.

In any case, you or your family members cannot be expelled for mere violation of this rule.

Can you be obliged to carry the documents with you?

EU countries may require that non-nationals must always carry their registration certificate or residence card and carry out checks, but only if the same requirement applies to their own nationals as regards their identity card.

Where can I find more?

You can fi nd the precise legal wording on the matter covered in this section in Articles8(2) and 9(3) of the Directive.

You and your family members have the right as long as the conditions of the right to reside are met. So you may lose the right if you no longer work or retain the status of worker or if you fi nish your studies and you do not have suffi cient resources to cover your residence.

Becoming a burden on the social assistance system may endanger your right to reside

If your right to reside is conditional upon having suffi cient resources not to become a burden on the host EU country’s social assistance system (i.e. when you are not economically active), it might be terminated once you become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system.

This does not mean that you cannot apply for social assistance there when you are in need. You have the right to receive the benefit under the same conditions as nationals of the host EU country. However, the host EU country is entitled to examine the circumstances of your claim. They can consider whether your need to apply for assistance is a case of temporary difficulties.

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